Mowing-machine.



* J. G. FAHR.

MOWING MACHINE. APPLICATION YIILED JULY 8, 1910.

1,115,797. v Patented Nov. 3, 19m

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

HOTD L!THO., WASHINGTON, 0. c.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

4 sums-SHEET 2.

hQJZZOZ 'amiaevfy/zz 1 L. D. N m G m w. A W H T r i m a H p m S m r E p m R o N m J. G. FAHR.

MOWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1910.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

jiazm @Zness es THE NO RRIS PETERS 60.. PHOm-LITMOA, WASHINGTON, D C

J. G. PAHR.

MOWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1910.

1,1 15,797. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

4 SHEETE-SHEET 4.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITH WASHINGIUN, D C

UNITED STATES PATENT orrionsq JOI-IANN GEORG FAHR, or eorrivranmemv, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 mascnnvmv I FABRIK FAI-IR/A.-G., or GOTTMADINGEN, GERMANY.

MOWING-MAGHINE.

ers, mowers and the like having lifting and swinging cutters, in which the upward movement of the cutter-bar is derived from the forward movement of the machine.

The essential feature of my improved mowing-machine consists in the disconnection and connection of the cutter actuating mechanism being effected by the forward movement of the machine in addition to the lifting of the cutters being so effected.

Further, in my machine are embodied improvements which serve-to simplify and control the descent of the cutter-bar. Such improvements are imperative, because in the present machine a handle for moving the cutter-bar is not provided, but the descent is effected automatically by gravity after the release thereof.

The simplification of the descent of the cutter-bar is provided by a contrivance, which during the descent of the bar places out of action a bolt, which on raising the bar holds this latter in an intermediate position, so that the bar can be let down from the highest position to the ground without a repeated disengagement of the retaining means.

The'control of the descentof the bar is provided by avoidance of a defect which is,

' bar, and after the cutter-bar has assumed Speciiication of Letters Patent. Application filed July 8, 1910. Serial No. 570,988.

in Mowing; Machines, of which the following'is a speci-w tion is illustrated on the accompanying Patented Nov. 3, 1914..

drawings, certain parts not necessary for eX- plaining the invention, being omitted in said drawings.- g

F gures 1 to are side elevations partly 'inisection of. the machine, of which Fig. 1

shows the operative position of the parts with the cutter mechanism let down, Fig. 2 with the cutter mechanism raised to swath height (intermediate height) and Fig. 3'

with the same raised into its terminal ver- I tica-l position. Figsd and at? aredetail plan views. Fig. 5 isa rear elevation of the machine. Figs. 6 to 9 show a detail of the contrivance for simplifying the descent of the bar, in three different positions. Fig. 10 1s a fragmentary rear elevation view of'the 'wheel and axle, showing the gears in operative engagement, theinoperative being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 11 is a sectional elevation view of the gears showing them in the operative position,-this view being taken to the left of the wheel shown in FigxlOQ i 1 The lifting lever 1, by means of which and the lever 1 and link 1 the cutter-bar is raised and swung into the vertical position i in the known manner, is connected by a chain 4 with the chain roller 30, mounted on a shaft 6. Thls shaft is so mounted in the frame of the machine by oneof its bearings 7 as to be adapted to be rocked from a downwardly inclined position of rest, upward into a position parallel to theaXle of the track wheels, depicted inFig. ff. In this position angularly and the cutter-bar to be raised.

The shaft 6 is raised from the inclined position to the parallel position by a pedal'12, which through the agency of a shaft'l3 and an arm 15 lifts the movable bearing 17 and by means thereof the shaft 6. i

Above the shaft 13 is the shaft .345, journaled in the frame," which controls the disconnection and connection of the cutter-driving mechanism; To this shaft is secured the arm 47 which, by means of the link hook 60 releases and engages the clutch between the driving wheel and'the blade; Mounted on the shaft 34 is a cam lever 33, which is under iii the influence of a helical spring 32, which presses it downward against the periphery of a cam disk 31 mounted on the shaft 6. This disk is of such profile that the elevated portions thereof press the lever 33 so far upward that the cutter driving mechanism is disconnected by the medium of the arms 47 and 60, whereas on the lever bearing against the depressed portions. the shaft 84 assumes the position which effects the driving or operating connection of the cutter mechanism. As on swinging up of the cutter-bar the pinion 9 of the shaft Gis brought into engagement with the spur wheel 10, the cam disk 31 rotates when this engagement has been effected, so that by the driving power of the carriage, by means of the shaft 6 and cam 31, the shaft 34 is rotated and disconnection of the cutter mechanism 1s The disk which effects the disconnection, instead of being mounted on the shaft 34, could be mounted on a separate shaft which, on disconnection being required is either brought bya separate pedal into engagement with the wheel 10, or with some other portion of the machine which, actuated by the forward motion, or may be automatically brought into the engaging position by the movement of the lifting gear.

If, from time to time, during the operation of the machine it is desired to raise the cutter-bar into an intermediate position (to the so-called swathheight) without employing the automatic power drive, this can be effected by a pedal 46, which is pivotally mounted on a pin of the lifting lever and acts, on depression, against an abutment 48.

hen it is desired to raise the cutter to the intermediate position the cam-lever 83 which effects the disconnection and connec tion is arranged at the rear end, alongside a cam surface provided on the lifting disk 28. This disk 28 is rotated on movement of L the lifting lever 1 by means of a link 29, so

that the appropriately shaped cam-surface supports the cam-lever 83, for the time being, in the requisite position. This is necessary in cases when the cutters under exceptional circumstances are lifted from the ground without employing power. The shaft 6 does not then participate in the rotation, and consequently the cutter mechanism would remain connected, were the discon-,

nection in such case not effected by the said cam-surface.

The descent of the cutters from the verticalposition results by the action of gravity, after a pedal 41, provided for this purpose, has released the detent, which retains the bar in the vertical position, and has initiated the descent. In order that the detent on reaching, during the descent. the usual 111 16111118 broadly of a masking lever mounted loosely on the spindle or nave of the lifting lever, which under the influence of its Weight assumes such a position on descent of the bar as to prevent the entry of the bolt of the detent into the notch which corresponds to the swath-hi h position (intermediate position) of the bar, while on the other hand it is of such configuration, that on lifting the bar it is forced by the detent bolt itself out of the position which prevents the entry into the intermediate notch.

The detailed construction of the contrivance is as follows: On the main frame 8 is provided in the known manner the segmental rack comprising three notches 49, 50, 51; for the engagement of the detent bolt 39, within a bearing 39*, which is under the influence of a spring. Notch 49 corresponds to the lowermost position of the cutters, notch 50 to the intermediate position (swath-height) and notch 51 to the vertical position of the cutter-bar. The detent bolt 39 can be displaced against the thrust of the spring bythe pedal 41, whereby it is moved out of the path of the rack. On the nave of the lifting lever 1 is loosely mounted the masking lever 38, which by virtue of the weight 43 of its rear end, tends to bear with its nose against-afixed abutment 42. In this position the front end 45 is so situated as to mask the intermediate notch and prevent entrv of the detent bolt 39.

911 the lifting lever being moved in the direction of the arrow 52 from the lowermost position,corresponding to the notch 49, the detent bolt encounters the nose of the front end of the masking lever 38 and causes same to participate in its further travel, so

that thereby engagement of the bolt 39 in the intermediate notch 50 and in the notch 51 farther on is not prevented. The length of the front end 45 of the masking lever is such relatively to the radii of the rack, that this front end 45 is released as the detent bolt passes from the notch 50 to the notch 51. The masking lever thereupon falls back into its position of rest, shown in Figs. 6 and 8, and, when by actuating the pedal 41 the detent bolt is subsequently disengaged from its position in the notch 51, which maintains the cutter bar vertical, and the latter descends, the bolt cannot on its return engage in the intermediate notch 50, because it is forced up by the masking lever and prevented from entering the groove. Thus it is insured that the intermediate notch is operative only during the lifting of the cutters and not during the descent thereof.

W it-h the above described contrivance for automatically disconnecting and connecting the cutter mechanism and the direct descent of the cutter bar from the vertical position to the bottom position, it may happen that I the drag-bar 37 to whichthe cutter-bar is pivotally connected, and the cutter-bar may at times assume a mutual angular position in which the drive of the cutters is obstructed, while the driving mechanism has been connected by the automatic clutch. This defect, which might lead to breakage of parts of the cutter gear, is avoided by so controlling the descent of the bars, that the drag-bar is prevented, by a supporting hook actuated by the lifting gear, from completing its descent, while the cutter bar has not yet reached the horizontal position. This supporting hook 35 is pivotally mounted on the frame 8 of the machine. A prolongation 53 of the hook 35 is situated in the path of the end 54.- of the curved link36, to which the lifting spring 55 is securedin the known manner. Normally this hook 35 hangs vertically downward byvirtue of its weight and supports the arm 37 of the drag-bar, as shown in Fig. 2. During the descent of the bars the end 54 of the curved link 36 moves toward the left and, when the cutter bar has assumed its horizontal position, encounters the extension 53, so that the hook 35 assumes an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby releasing the arm 37 of the dragbar, so that the same falls.

On lifting the bar the extension 53 of the hook is left by the end 54 of the link only when the drag-bar has reached its highest position (swath-height). The hook then falls against the arm and supports it during the further course of the lifting movement I of the cutter-bar and during the succeeding descent until, at the end of the latter as above described, it is again thrown off and again releases the drag-bar.

I claim: I

In a mowing and reaping machine of the character described having cutters and driving mechanism therefor, means for lifting said cutters by power derived from the forward movement of the machine, a detent connected with said lifting means, a quadrant having a series of notches on its edge, attached to the machine and in position to be engagedby said detent, and means for.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atents,

Washington, D. C. 

